Quick Takes on Stoop Kids and Jurassic 5

Who: Stoop KidsWhat: “Genre bending with a base of hip hop and doo wop” or “American unpredictable”,” as bassist Sam Freund explainsWhen: Thursday, May 4, 10 p.m.Where: Gasa GasaWhy: Stoop Kids brings to the table a danceable and theatrical show with a groovy sound. Once described as “A love letter to doo-wop and hip hop” by Pigeons and Planes, they’ve found a way to pair doo-wop harmonies with modern hip-hop beats and rap lyrics. Not many bands answer the question of what they are influenced by with a response that includes the dramatically wide range of The Beatles, OutKast, Eminem, The Police, The B-52s, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, The Inkspots and The Beach Boys. The mixture sounds fresh and original, and their live shows are engaging and wildly celebratory. They aspire to be “everybody’s music” and the jazzy baritone sax parts in addition to the funky bass lines make it so that there does seem to be something in the mix for everyone.

This show will be the band’s “mixtape release show”. The band calls its upcoming collection, Queue, a mixtape rather than an album because the collage of songs on it were individually created and are less cohesive than the band's previous albums, Already Out of Time and What a World.

Queue will be released at midnight after the show on Spotify and physical copies will be available for purchase during the set. For fans that are familiar or folks who are in town, Thursday night will serve as a rockin’ kick off for Jazz Fest’s final weekend.--by Kate O'Brien

Who: Jurassic 5 plus BlackaliciousWhat: Alternative late '90s hiphop innovators with fresh beats and an easy flowWhen: Thursday, May 4, 9 p.m.Where: The Howlin WolfWhy: If music were a time machine, Jurassic 5 would be the funky group waiting on the other side. Hailing from an era of hip-hop without gimmicks, the Los Angeles ensemble lays down strong jazz samples with a fluid passing of the mic. All in all, the effect is as though you walked into a block party you weren’t invited to but definitely aren’t leaving.

Though it’s technically years before their time, Jurassic 5 proves themselves to be champions of the Golden Age of Hip-Hop in “Concrete Schoolyard,” singing, “Let’s take it back to the concrete streets/ original beats with real live MC’s.” They’re no hypocrites in that sense. Disc jockeys Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark compete while rappers Akil, Chali 2na, Marc 7, and Soup playfully spin stories of a shared human experience. Their lyricism isn't political political, but their clear social consciousness works to connect people more than explore divides. “These are different times but we feel the same pains/ The blood of mankind running through the same veins,” they say in "Work it Out."--By Ruby Berman